Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the underlying cause of about one of every three deaths in United States each year. Likewise, about 34% of American adults are suffering from one or more types of CVD. In 2010, the total direct and indirect cost of CVDs was approximately $503 billion.
Certainly, there is an urgent need to develop new methods and devices for diagnosing and monitoring CVDs. Diagnosis enables early intervention and remediation. Monitoring may be a useful tool in behavior modification and prediction, as well as in the avoidance of an acute event leading to emergency hospitalization, morbidity and/or mortality. New methods and devices to meet these and other needs advantageously employ noninvasive measurement to reduce medical complications and increase patient comfort. Ideally, they are also easy to use by medical personnel and subjects themselves, especially in a home environment.